I replayed Aura: Fate of the Ages recently on my Win 8.1 machine. I didn't try to install it as-is but instead, for some reason, ran the installation and game executable using XP compatibility. Anyway, no worries. The game played flawlessly. I then wanted to play Aura: The Sacred Rings but I couldn't get it to play. The game installs fine but when I try to launch the game it goes unresponsive. I tried installing with no compatibility but that failed. I tried running the compatibility troubleshooter but no joy there (8.1 wanted to run Vista compatibility). I also tried XP but no luck. I see that this problem came up in the Windows 7 thread where Kemal said they couldn't get it running and ended up using VMWare to play it. However, Sarahandus got it to run without any issues.

Is VMWare a good way to go? I haven't run any virtual environments on my 8.1 machine.

_________________________
Did you ever stop to think and then forget to start again?

I don't use any of the virtual machines, so can't comment on them. You do need to have a copy of a Windows operating system. I think Jenny and Inland are much more familiar with them, so you might ask in the general Glitches forum.

Cue,Have you tried installing and running as Administrator?(Right-click the icon and choose "Run As Administrator" from the context menu.) You could also try installing to some location other than C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86). This is what games from GOG do -- they install in a "C:\GOG Games" folder instead of where the original disc version of the games installed.

Originally Posted By: Cue

Is VMWare a good way to go? I haven't run any virtual environments on my 8.1 machine.

It is worth a try, since Kemal was able to get Sacred Rings playing inside VMware.

VMware is the best for running Windows 95/98 virtual machines on Windows 8/8.1.VMware Player is free.VMware Workstation is expensive --> ***link***.VMware Fusion is for Macs, and is generally less expensive than Workstation --> ***link***.So most gamers who use VMware use VMware Player.I used Fusion when I was using a Mac.

VirtualBox is free, but does not run Windows 95 or 98 well at all.It should work OK with Windows XP.

VirtualPC won't install and run without crashing on Windows 8/8.1 without a lot of fuss. Getting it to install and getting it to work without crashing are two different things. It worked much better with Windows 7. To get it working without crashes, I had to locate and download an antique version of Windows Phone, as well as an obscure upgrade that was not too new.

So of these three, VMware Player is the best choice for installing Windows 95/98 in a virtual machine that is running on Windows 8/8.1.

As Draclvr pointed out, all of these virtual environment programs need a Windows installation disc. And if you install XP or later on a virtual machine, you'll have to activate it after installing. If you do this, I'd advise you to back up your virtual machine immediately after Windows activation, before installing any games on it, so you can restore it to a fresh install condition without using up another activation.

Thanks Drac and Jenny. As usual, you are both very resourceful and informative.

I did try to run as administrator but it still came up unresponsive.

We use VMWare VSphere on our work network where SBS2008 Server hosts Windows 2000 Server and Window 2003 Server so I'm a little familiar with it. I didn't install it so that will be new to me. If the player has similar functionality and appearance as VSphere I may have a fighting chance to figure it out. I'm just a little nervous with the installation in Win 8.1 since everything I've done so far in Win 8 has been a bit trying. By the way, Drac, I did install Classic Shell for Win 8 and love the look. So much easier for me to get around.

I recently scrapped my XP computer when I bought my new Win 8 machine. Can I use the OS product code from that PC for the virtual installation?

_________________________
Did you ever stop to think and then forget to start again?

Classic Shell has been a godsend for everyone who wants to take advantage of the "under the hood" improvements in Windows 8.1, but just can't stomach the UI. I called it Windows 7 Plus to someone last week!

I don't know about whether you can use the XP code or not - sometimes those OEM versions are tied to a certain computer. Jenny will know more.

_________________________
In my PC corner for the winter, gaming, knitting and reading.

The interface in VSphere is somewhat different from what you see in VMware Workstation -- and the interface you have in Player is a diminished version of what you see in Workstation. You may have to edit files to get access to some functionality.

However if you've been using VSphere, you shouldn't have trouble with VMware Player other than some differences in the user interface.

Whether it's legal to re-use the product code for your old XP computer would depend on whether the XP installed on it is a retail or OEM version. Often retail versions of XP were transferrable up to 3 activations, while OEM versions were only good for the activation on the computer they were originally installed on.

Am I remembering your old XP being somewhat the vintage of mine? Like an HP from around 2004? I've moved that hard drive to new computers twice meaning I had to activate the OEM version of XP twice as it recognized that is was on a different motherboard and never had any problems. But it might be different for just using the activation code.

_________________________
In my PC corner for the winter, gaming, knitting and reading.

I watched a YouTube video showing the VMWare installation as well as the OS installation within it. Looks pretty straightforward. I see that Microsoft actually offers an ISO image download for XP SP3 on their website. I'll try it with my OEM product key and see what happens. The worst that can happen is it fails...no harm, no fowl.

Great memory, Drac! I had that computer many years and finally gave it up. I really liked it but it was pretty technically challenged for gaming and I finally bit the bullet and bought a new machine when the motherboard died.

_________________________
Did you ever stop to think and then forget to start again?

Thank you, Jenny, for your as ever astute and very helpful comments on this matter!

I've just moved to Windows 8.1., and boy, how hard it is to get just everything up running again. Windows has become so terribly restrictive and monopolist (or at least it's even more obvious than it was), that even some applications that were native Windows 7 software (and some quite expensive at that!) will no longer work, which takes you ages to work around issues or look for alternatives.

For instance, Virtual PC, which worked well on 7, is no longer supported and cannot even be installed. Microsoft now uses 'Hyper-V', but that's only available for Windows 8.1. Pro-edition, and I have the regular 'Home' Edition. Just awful.

I tried Oracle's VirtualBox, only to find out, that, as I wanted to run Windows 98 SE as a guest operating system (emulation, in other words), the so-called 'Guest Additions', which offer indispensable monitor, mouse and sound tweaking (otherwise you're stuck with just 16 colours on your screen) cannot be installed for Windows 98! It took me ages to at least attempt to install it, changing administrator settings and copying files to and fro, mounting and unmounting devices, but all to no avail, because the documentation clearly states that these Additions, somehow, are unsuitable for 98. Again, I should have taken your word for it!

So I got VMware Player. Installation of the application and installation of Windows 98 inside the virtual machine worked perfectly.

I got no sound devices, however, so I downloaded the Creative Labs sound drivers from here, and installed them inside the virtual machine (copied them to rewritable DVD first):

Thank you so much, Rich! It will be interesting to see how Windows 10 does with games. I guess time and technology marches on. I keep my old XP computer handy for the older games, but I play them so seldom. I have been getting the urge to load up Shivers though!

_________________________
In my PC corner for the winter, gaming, knitting and reading.

Thank you so much, Rich! It will be interesting to see how Windows 10 does with games. I guess time and technology marches on. I keep my old XP computer handy for the older games, but I play them so seldom. I have been getting the urge to load up Shivers though!

My old desktop which ran XP got 'fried' though, so I decided to go for a radical update of hardware and software, which was long overdue anyway, also because XP is no longer supported, so I guess should only be run offline to rule out vulnerability.

As for Windows 10, my advice would be: no rush whatsoever! I think it's pretty ridiculous that you have to throw away fully operational applications and peripherals (like printers or scanners), just because a new operating system no longer supports its versions or drivers! Especially when its content is far more important than the technology it's embedded in, and there are no real alternatives. Of course, emulation might help, which is exactly what I'm trying out!

Jenny said that she got Virtual PC running on Windows 8.1, but she went through a lot of hassles to get there.

Quote:

VirtualPC won't install and run without crashing on Windows 8/8.1 without a lot of fuss. Getting it to install and getting it to work without crashing are two different things. It worked much better with Windows 7. To get it working without crashes, I had to locate and download an antique version of Windows Phone, as well as an obscure upgrade that was not too new.